


Soar

by LittleMissWolfie



Category: Free!, Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball, Ookiku Furikabutte | Big Windup!, ちはやふる | Chihayafuru
Genre: F/M, M/M, Maximum Ride Au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-23
Updated: 2016-03-01
Packaged: 2018-05-15 16:19:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5792350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleMissWolfie/pseuds/LittleMissWolfie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Four teenage athletes were kidnapped, their families killed, their friends left in mourning.</p>
<p>But then they came back.</p>
<p>Changed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_ Panic. Blind panic. He’s running as fast as he can, but  _ they _ ’re faster. The tattered remains of his hospital-issue gown are fluttering around his legs and are getting stained with blood from the cuts on his pale skin. If he can just get out of this forest, he’s home free. _

 

_ One of  _ them _ howls, and the sound sends a wave of terror through his small body. He pumps his legs just a bit faster, ignoring how his muscles protest and his lungs ache from the sudden intake of bitterly cold air. He needs to get out of here. He refuses to go back. _

 

_ From behind some trees, he can see the lights of a city below. It has to be Tokyo. He’s close. This thought gives him the motivation to amp himself up, and he sprints to the edge of the forest. He has to pause there, so he can bend his knees and prepare. _

 

CRACK!

 

_ The sound of breaking sticks almost makes him fumble, but he pushes off from the ground firmly and lets his wings unfurl. Safely in the sky, away from  _ them, _ he gives himself over to his instincts. They’ll guide him home. _

 

_o0o_

 

Kagami is awoken from his fitful slumber by a loud crash on his balcony. Nigou, at his position at the end of the bed, whines a little, and Kagami mutters a placation to the stupid dog before he rises to investigate.

 

A year ago, Kagami would have never imagined letting Nigou sleep in his bed. But that was before Kuroko went missing.

 

Right after their Winter Cup win, Kuroko vanished. Their team thought nothing of it; disappearing was his  _ thing, _ after all. They all just assumed he went on a trip or needed some time alone and didn’t think to tell any of them. However, a week turned into a month, which turned into two, and they finally had to admit that Kuroko was MIA.

 

The police investigated, but his parents and grandmother were gone, as well. Not even Momoi and Akashi combined could find the shadow player. He was just…  _ gone. _

 

Several of their teammates offered to take Nigou in, but no matter where he was, the puppy would escape and find Kagami’s apartment. Just like Kuroko, he thought to himself once. He took the infernal thing in and, eventually, got over his fear.

 

Of Nigou.

 

Not all dogs.

 

Because they’re fucking terrifying.

 

Kagami flips on lights as he goes, because he’s stepped in Nigou’s food bowl more times than he can count and he doesn’t feel like that shit right now. He’s tired and grumpy, and he just needs to make sure no one’s trying to break in before he returns to bed.

 

He finally reaches the living room and flips on the final light. What he sees, he is completely unprepared for.

 

He could deal with a burglar, or a rapist. He could deal with one of the goddamned Skittles Rangers popping up to annoy him. Hell, he could deal with Alex somehow climbing his building and passing out drunk on his balcony.

 

What he can’t deal with is Kuroko Tetsuya, dressed in a torn, bloody hospital gown, pressed against his window with a pained expression.

 

And he definitely can’t deal with the fourteen foot wings on Kuroko’s back.

 

_o0o_

 

_ He’s not surprised his instincts led him to Kagami-kun instead of his family home. Kagami-kun’s home was warm and accepting and comforting. His wings give out a little and his landing on Kagami-kun’s balcony is a little less than graceful. He thinks he’s knocked a chair over, but his mind isn’t focusing on that. _

 

_ With all the noise he’s making, Kagami-kun appears quickly. He looks shocked, though Kuroko can’t blame him. He’s not sure how long Itex had him, but he knows it’s been a while. He’s seen several new buildings as he flew over the city, and Maji Burger has expanded and now has a kiddy play place.  _

 

_ Kagami opens the balcony sliding door, and Kuroko all but collapses into the familiar set of arms. Now that he’s warm and he knows he’s safe, he falls asleep. _

 

_o0o_

 

Kagami half-expects it to have been a dream when he wakes the next morning. Only for a second, though, because the minute he cracks his eyes open he is face-to-face with his best friend.

 

Kuroko is still asleep, which kind of surprises Kagami. He’d always risen before him in the past. But his eyes are closed and his breathing is somewhat even. They’re both on their sides, facing each other, and he’s so close Kagami just wants to  _ touch _ him to make sure he’s real.

 

After Kuroko collapsed in his arms the previous night, Kagami rubbed him down with a warm cloth to get rid of the dirt and dried blood (actual blood, like,  _ what the fuck? _ ), mindful of the white wings ( _ fucking wings!! _ ) that now took residence on his back. When Kuroko was adequately cleaned, Kagami dressed him in a pair of his boxers and an old t-shirt and laid him in bed beside him.

 

Nigou is curled up behind Kuroko’s knees, with his head propped up on the side of one, and he’s looking at Kagami with his owner’s unreadable eyes.

 

Kagami’s not sure what he needs to do in this situation. Logically, he should call the police. Kuroko’s got a missing persons report filed, after all, and the police need to know he’s  not missing anymore. 

 

But he needs to wait for Kuroko to wake up first, so he can tell him where the hell he’s been.

 

With a grunt, Kagami slides out of bed, hooks an arm around Nigou to pick him up, and heads into the kitchen to start making breakfast.

 

_o0o_

 

_ Kagami-kun’s comforting warmth is gone when he wakes up. He panics for a second, afraid his escape had been a dream, but he’s lying in a bed, not the bottom of a cage, and he feels cleaner than he’s felt in a long time. Once his panic dissipates, he smells eggs and bacon and toast, so he slips from the warm covers of the bed and begins to pad his way down the hall to the kitchen. _

 

_ Kagami-kun is cooking, obviously. What is less familiar is the sight of Nigou sitting obediently at his feet. Nigou apparently hears Kuroko’s soft footsteps, as he turns his head and perks up his ears. He released a joyous bark and rushes him, tongue lolling out to the side and his mouth open in the dog version of a smile.  _

 

_ Kagami-kun turns around at Nigou’s bark, and the look that crosses his face is a mixture of relief, happiness, confusion, hurt, and anger. He decides to ignore that for the moment and bends to scoop his dog up in his arms. His face is licked very thoroughly, and when he tries to set Nigou down the dog whines and scrabbles at his arms, letting him know very clearly that he has no intention of being away from his person. _

 

_ So he holds onto Nigou instead, cradling him in his arms very gently. “Hello, Kagami-kun,” he rasps, his voice scratchy from lack of use and his words forming slowly around the words he hasn’t spoken in a year. “Thank you for letting me in and washing me. I know I owe you an explanation, but can it wait until after breakfast?” _

 

_ Kagami-kun grunts and turns back to his eggs. _

 

_o0o_

 

Kagami should be demanding answers, but even now, a year later, Kuroko’s comfort is more important. He sets a plate filled to the brim with eggs, bacon, ham, toast, and fruit in front of the small boy, though he knows he won’t finish it. Then he makes a call.

 

Aomine answers on the fifth ring. “What the hell do you want, Bakagami?” he asks, voice husky from sleep. “It’s too fucking early for this shit.”

 

“Shut up, Ahomine,” Kagami returns. He sees Kuroko stiffen a little out of the corner of his eye.    
“Listen, Nigou’s been whining a lot lately, and I think it’s ‘cause he misses Kuroko. Did he ever leave any clothes at your house during middle school? If you didn’t wash it, he may still be able to smell him or some other stupid dog shit.”

 

When Aomine replies, his voice is tense, and Kagami knows it’s because he mentioned Kuroko. “Lemme check. Satsuki stole some of it for whatever creepy girl shit she does with guys’ smells, but I may still have a hoodie or two.” Silence, then a grunt. “Nah, I’ve got nothing. Want me to call Satsuki?”

 

“Yeah, thanks. Just bring it around whenever.”

 

Aomine hangs up.

 

Kuroko’s soft, hoarse voice asks, “How is Aomine-kun?”

 

Kagami sits down across from him at the table. “He was pretty torn up when you disappeared,” he says bluntly. “Hell, we all were.” He knows there’s an accusing tone in his voice, and Kuroko visibly shrinks back from it.

 

“I will explain soon, Kagami-kun. I promise you that. But I need you to promise me something.” His voice is grave, more so than it had been a year ago.

 

“Anything.” And Kagami means it.

 

“You can’t tell anyone that I’m here.”

 

_o0o_

 

_ He hides in Kagami-kun’s guest bedroom when Aomine-kun and Momoi-san arrive. He wishes he could have brought Nigou in with him, but that would have made Aomine-kun and Momoi-san suspicious. _

 

_ It’s hard, hearing their voices and not being able to see them. They both sound tired, and Aomine-kun doesn’t bother picking a fight with Kagami-kun as they talk. Momoi-san is uncharacteristically subdued, though she takes a moment to coo over Nigou. _

 

_ “Thanks for bringing this, guys. It’ll mean a lot to Nigou,” Kagami says. _

 

_ Momoi responds, “It’s not like Tetsu-kun’s clothes are getting any use in my closet.” Her voice breaks a little when she says his name, and his heart clenches a little. He may not love Momoi-san the way she loved him, but he doesn’t want to see her hurt. “I’m sure he would have wanted Nigou to have them for comfort.” _

 

_ “Don’t talk like that!” Aomine-kun roars, and it’s the first shout he’s heard from him in the whole conversation. “Tetsu’s definitely alive! We just have to find him!” _

 

_ “Dai-chan, it’s been a year. Akashi’s doing his best, but the police are going to give up soon. I think we need to accept that he’s dead.” Momoi-san’s voice is bland, and it makes Kuroko want to cry. _

 

_ “You can if you want, but I’m not giving up!” With this statement, Aomine-kun’s footsteps grow loud and aggravated, and within seconds he hears the sound of Kagami-kun’s door slamming shut. Momoi-san makes apologies behind him and scampers out, as well, leaving Kagami-kun silent and Kuroko with an ache in his chest. _

 

_o0o_

 

After Aomine’s outburst, Kagami drags Kuroko from the guest room and sits him down on his couch. “Start talking,” he says. 

 

“My disappearance was not voluntary,” Kuroko begins. “The night I disappeared, I was headed to the store to buy instant ramen. As I was walking, I was clubbed from behind and lost consciousness. When I woke up, I was on an operating table in a dark room, and several scientists were standing above me. They gave me the serial number K-5994 and began to experiment on me.”

 

Kagami’s face goes slack in horror. He’s never doubted Kuroko, and his absence of a year wouldn’t change that. “Why you?” he sputters.

 

“They saw me play in the Winter Cup and decided I would be a good specimen. They later told me that they killed my parents to make sure I had few connections to the outside world. Seeing as you haven’t told me how worried they are about me, I assume this statement was correct.” Something is wrong about the way he says that. It’s like he expected them to be dead when he returned.  _ He probably has _ , Kagami thinks to himself, even as Kuroko continues his story. “They didn’t talk much while they experimented, but the further along they got, the better I was able to hear them. I was in the second serious batch of these experiments, and I was only there because the first batch escaped. A former researcher grew close to the children and helped them get away. Because he also removed their tracking implants, they were unable to find them.

 

“This led to them needing a new group of test subjects. They observed several student athletes and picked out the ones they thought would best fit their experiments. We were all taken at the same time and we were put in neighboring cages.”

 

“CAGES?” Kagami can’t help but ask in horror.

 

“Yes, Kagami-kun,” Kuroko says in an eerily calm voice, “we were kept in cages. Anyway, our experiments were deemed as successful when we all safely grew a pair of wings.” As if to demonstrate, his wings flap feebly under his shirt. “By the way, Kagami-kun, may I cut slits in the back of this shirt? I feel a bit stifled.” Kagami nodded and reached to fetch the scissors he’d used the previous night to cut the bloody hospital gown from his body. Kuroko efficiently cut slits in the shirt, and almost immediately he sagged a little in relief as his wings stretched out a bit behind him. “That feels much better.

 

“About a month ago, the other subjects and I noticed that we all had a similar marking at the smalls of our backs. We concluded that that must have been where our tracking implants were. We stealthily cut the implants out of each other and broke out of the compound. We were forced to split up when they sent another batch of violent mutants after us. I know their approximate locations, as they know mine, and we promised to contact each other if the scientists find us.” The story seems to have taken a lot out of Kuroko, who is slouching for the first time since Kagami met him. “Do you believe me, Kagami-kun?”

  
“I wish I didn’t,” Kagami replies solemnly. 


	2. Chapter 2

_ Nigou staunchly refuses to leave his side for the next week. Kagami-kun only leaves to go to school or meet up with the other Seirin basketball club members, and every time he comes home he is bearing news of their lives. He both appreciates the sentiment and wishes Kagami-kun wouldn’t talk about it. It only reminds him of how his life has completely changed. _

 

_ Kagami-kun asks almost every day if he is ready to tell some of the others about his return. Each day, his will to resist dies a little more. The only thing that steels his resolve is the thought of all the others who depend on him keeping them a secret. _

 

_ H-2345, his cheerfulness sometimes their only ray of hope in those bleak cages. _

 

_ O-4979, her motherly tendencies a comfort after their punishments. _

 

_ M-8444, his innocence their will to fight. _

 

_ If the public discovers their secret, it won’t be only him who is in danger. His comrades will be, as well. _

 

_ And he won’t put them in that position. _

 

_o0o_

 

In another part of Tokyo, Mashima Taichi is growing concerned.

 

Well, no. He passed  _ concerned _ two nights ago when he found Oe Kanade, who was presumed dead, passed out in his yard with a pair of tawny wings growing out of her back. She woke soon after he brought her inside and swore him to secrecy. He’s spent the next two days redirecting Chihaya and Arata away from his house and slowly wrangling the story from her.

 

“We have to go to the police!” he insists. “This organization needs to be shut down!”

 

“Mashima-kun, the police can’t do anything,” she says sadly, and refuses to elaborate.

 

Oe has changed considerably in the past year. She is thinner, making her curves more noticeable. Her hair has also grown, now reaching to her hips and swaying around her body whenever she moved. She looks a lot more mature now, and it’s hard for his teenage-boy-brain to think about other things near her.

 

He will, on occasion, manage to get her to talk about her fellow experiments in the hopes he can find them. “What about that K kid?” he asks.

 

“He’s practically invisible. You won’t find him.”

 

“H?”

 

“He’s too inconspicuous. You’d never suspect him.”

 

“M?”

 

“He’d run away as soon as he saw you, and he’s a fast runner. You’d never catch him.”

 

“Well, what sports did they play?”

 

Oe sighs and turns a surprisingly sharp glare on him. “If I answer that, will you leave me alone for a while?”

 

He nods wordlessly.

 

“K plays basketball, H swims, and M plays baseball. Now, please, stop asking about them.” Her voice grows thick, and Taichi is afraid she’ll cry. “If it was my fault one of them got caught, I’d never forgive myself.”

 

_o0o_

 

He is alone in the countryside. He sits by himself in the old, dilapidated house he and his swim team found together that fateful night that tied their lives together. He, unlike the others, decided not to go to the home of a friend. He is afraid his childness will get them all caught.

 

He thinks, for a second, of the others. K, O, and M. He hopes they’re safe.

 

A wave breaks against the coast, and his eyes follow the white foam as it disappears back into the water. His golden wings curl around himself further, shielding his naked body from the harsh sea wind. If it weren’t for the experiments, he would have died of hypothermia by now. Though, he thinks he may have been better off if he had.

 

Snapping away his dark thoughts, he unfurls his wings and goes for a flight over the ocean he once thought himself a part of.

 

_o0o_

 

**He is hiding in Abe-kun’s closet again. After spending such a long time in a cage, he feels safest in a closed space.**

 

**Abe-kun doesn’t even know he’s here yet. He manages to slip into a new hiding spot when his current one is jeopardized, so even the detail-oriented, control freak Abe-kun has not spotted him yet. While being close to Abe-kun is a comfort, he is ashamed of what he’s become.**

 

**His midnight-colored wings twitch behind him. He’d managed to snatch an old shirt of Abe-kun’s to replace the torn hospital gown, but his wings are trapped underneath. He’s dared not go out for a fly since the escape, because his stupid luck would be what got all of them caught.**

 

**He wishes they were all together again. O would tell him everything would be alright. H would make a stupid joke to cheer him up. K would explain things logically and make him feel safe.**

 

**He knows, reasonably, that separating is safest. A flock of bird kids isn’t exactly an inconspicuous sight, after all. But all the logic in the world can’t control feelings, and right now he’s feeling lost.**

 

**K and O probably have the rest of their lives planned out already. H will hardly let himself think, constantly bouncing and on the move. He is the only one with nothing to fall back on.**

 

**He pulls his knees against his chest and chokes back a sob.**

 

_o0o_

 

When Kagami returns home from basketball practice, he sees Kuroko on his phone. His voice is soft, but Kagami can pick up most of the conversation from Kuroko’s side. “M, please, calm down. I know it is hard for you, but you need to breathe. It will not break our promise if you wish to tell your Home. I am sure he will be accepting of your new additions. Tonight? Alright, I will attempt to contact O as well. I will see you then.”

 

“Who was that?” Kagami asks, startling Kuroko. The bird boy’s blue eyes meet his red, and he asks again, “Who was that?”

 

“One of my fellow subjects. He is panicking, so I am meeting him tonight. You weren’t meant to hear that.”

 

“It’s my house. It’s my goddamned phone. I can listen in if I want.”

 

Kuroko nods. “That is true, Kagami-kun. In any case, I am meeting him tonight, and you cannot come.”

 

“Why not?” Kagami cried, indignant. 

 

“Because I am flying, and I will not be able to carry both you and fresh clothes for him. Even if I could, I would not. I will not put their identities at risk.”

 

That raises Kagami’s hackles. “Are you saying you don’t trust me?”

 

“I trust you to not purposefully tell anyone. You are a good person, Kagami-kun. You would never knowingly put someone in danger like that. However, I am afraid you may let something slip. This kind of secret is a hard one to keep, and I commend you for keeping your silence for as long as you have. I will not risk their safety for anything.”

 

Kagami knows the conversation is over, because Kuroko spins on his heel and marches to his guest bedroom to begin gathering clothes.

 

_o0o_

 

~She sneaks out of Mashima-kun’s room once his breathing has evened out. She got the call from K while Mashima-kun was busy with cram school, and she readily agreed. Her wings were aching for a flight, and her heart was aching for her fear-bound brothers.~

 

~They meet high on a hill a mile or so away from the city. M and K are already there, and they both greet her with smiles and hugs. Though it has only been a few days, she feels like it’s been an eternity since she saw either of them.~

 

~K asks if either of them have heard from H, and they both give him a negative response. They are all aware of his plan to hide out by himself, without a human Home to tether himself to. He is on an island his swim team spend the night on once, and he gave them the coordinates, even though they could all find their way to him in a heartbeat.~

 

~She knows he must be lonely. H was always the most talkative of the four of them, always talking about his friends. They never mentioned any names from their previous lives, in case the scientists killed more than just their families. But H was very expressive in his tales of his friends, and those stories gave them all hope of what could happen when they escaped.~

 

~M is wearing some of K’s old clothes. They’re a tad snug on him, but they fit him better than the large shirt on the ground beside him must have. She is wearing some of Mashima-kun’s mother’s clothes he managed to snag from the basement, and they’re a little tight around the bust and hips, but they are otherwise suitable. The commonality between the three of their outfits is the slits for the wings in the backs of their shirts.~

 

~Looking at K now, she is surprised at how normal he looks. His body language is much more relaxed than it had been in the lab, and he almost looked happy. She  is suddenly struck by how handsome he is.~

 

~The scientists at Itex intended for them to breed, to see if it was possible for mutants to be born. They probably caught him for that purpose, honestly. It wasn’t as if he was unattractive in the cages, but his relaxed ease makes it more obvious.~

 

~If she had met him any other way, she is sure she could have fallen in love with him.~

 

~They exchange pleasantries for a moment longer before their wings unfurl and they take off into the sky.~

 

_o0o_

 

Abe wakes to a thump inside his bedroom.

 

He’s been paranoid for a couple of days, actually. He keeps seeing things out of the corner of his eye, and he hears strange sounds in the night. He’s beginning to wonder if Mihashi’s actually dead and is haunting him. It wouldn’t surprise him, honestly. In life, Mihashi was a shit. It only makes sense that he’s a shit dead.

 

He slowly cracks one eye open and sees, just for an instant, a flash of orange and black before his closet door is shut, quickly and quietly.

 

Silently, he slips out of his bed and grabs the baseball bat he keeps next to his bed. It belonged to Mihashi before he disappeared, and after a few months his mother had been unable to look at it without breaking down so she gave it to him. She and the rest of Mihashi’s immediate family disappeared soon after. Since he acquired it, Abe has never used it in a game.

 

Because, just in case Mihashi was actually gone for good, Abe would hate to have the one material possession that reminded him of his pitcher to be broken.

 

Abe approaches his closet slowly, so he won’t startle whoever was lying in wait. If it’s someone just looking to hide out for a while, he doesn’t want to give them too bad of a scare. If it’s a burglar or a rapist or something, he wants to get an edge on them. 

 

What he doesn’t expect is to see fucking  _ Mihashi _ hiding in his closet, staring up at him with frightened eyes, as big black wings wrapped themselves around him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! We get different POVs!
> 
> Also, I might be able to keep a regular update schedule for once, so go me! As of right now, I will do my best to update on Fridays.
> 
> I'm planning on this story being around five chapters or so. I may write a spin off about them all bonding in the lab, though, so look out for that.
> 
> See you next Friday!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I missed the update on Friday!

Kagami watches as Kuroko lands gracefully on his balcony in the dawn light, looking more at peace than he has in a long while. His blue hair is windblown and has acquired a collection of leaves and twigs, and though he’s not smiling, he’s radiating happiness.

 

Kagami feels an irrational twist of anger in his stomach. 

 

Instead of voicing this, he calls, “Did you have fun?”

 

“We were not allowed to fly freely at the lab,” Kuroko answers. “Aside from our escape, this is the first time I have been able to fly for myself instead of for testing.” His eyes dart to the clock above the doorway. “Kagami-kun should have gone to bed instead of waiting for me. School will be starting soon.”

 

Kagami doesn’t question how Kuroko knew he’d waited up. He just gets a little angry. “Like I could sleep knowing someone could  _ see  _ you! You’re my responsibility now, Kuroko! I can’t just relax while you’re out!” As he speaks, he gets progressively louder  _ and _ closer to Kuroko, whose face is starting to crack a little. Good. “And even if you  _ weren’t _ my responsibility, I would still worry!” Damn, he can feel heat building behind his eyes. “I… I can’t lose you again, Kuroko.”

 

And then Kuroko does something completely unexpected.

 

He stretches up onto his toes and loops his arms around Kagami’s neck, pulling him down into an embrace. Kagami can’t help but return his hug, and when Kuroko’s wings close around them, Kagami lets his tears fall onto Kuroko’s shirt.

 

“You will not lose me again,” Kuroko vows softly. “You are my Home, Kagami-kun.” He says  _ home _ in English, and Kagami wants to ask about it, but he doesn’t want to ruin the way Kuroko is holding him.

 

So he stays silent.

 

_o0o_

 

~She gently flies through Mashima-kun’s open window, doing her best to not knock any of his many trophies over with the beating of her wings. The last thing she needs is for his mother to discover her camping out in his room. She’d be kicked out and sent back to Itex before she could come up with any excuse.~

 

~She sheds her dirty clothes in exchange for a long T-shirt of Mashima-kun’s to sleep in and, after a long second, decides to crawl alongside Mashima-kun in his bed. The pre-dawn light gives her just enough vision for her to study Mashima-kun’s face.~

 

~He is as handsome as he was when she was taken. She has never understood how Chihaya-chan could choose the plain-looking Wataya-kun over Mashima-kun. They just don’t seem as well matched together as she would have with Mashima-kun. Chihaya-chan’s beauty and fiery temper makes her burn far brighter than Wataya-kun.~

 

~Mashima-kun has told her that Wataya-kun actually has a very similar personality to Chihaya-chan’s, but she just can’t see it. He’s usually so polite, if a bit competitive and passionate about karuta. She supposes he’s different around strangers, though, so she shouldn’t judge.~

 

~She used to think she could love Desk-kun. They were both beginners and both had a similar stature, after all, and Mashima-kun was clearly Off Limits by his own affections towards Chihaya-chan. Porky was far too advanced, and she saw him as something of a mentor rather than a romantic prospect. And by the time the first years came around, she had already set herself on Desk-kun’s path.~

 

~But then she was taken.~

 

~A few months ago, when she and the others were discussing their escapes, they created the concept of Homes. Their Home would be the person they loved most in the world, since their parents were likely dead. K, H, and M all had a clear idea of who their Homes were, but it took her a while longer.~

 

~Desk-kun? Could she really spend the rest of her life with him, however short that life may be? Could she resolve to stay in his room, quiet and reserved, being the perfect, cute Kana-chan she used to be? Could she wake up to him every morning and go to sleep to him every night without regrets?~

 

~So she eventually decided that Mashima-kun would be her Home. Even if her love was unrequited, even if he would never see her as anything more than a teammate, even if he would never give up on Chihaya-chan.~

 

~She loves him, and that is at once terrifying and peaceful, dangerous and safe. Love, she has discovered, is full of more contradictions than karuta has ever prepared her for.~

 

~She settles in along Mashima-kun’s side, leeching his warmth through the thin shirt, and tries to sleep.~

 

_o0o_

 

Haruka-senpai, Makoto-senpai, and Rei are standing on the beach where they trained those three years ago, watching as the waves crash against the rocky shores. Rei notices, out of the corner of his eye, that Makoto-senpai and Haruka-senpai’s hands are entwined, and he tries to be happy for them, but it’s hard.

 

He knows it’s just as hard for them as it is for him. They’ve known Nagisa-kun for much longer and think of him as a little brother, after all. What gives Rei the right to mourn a boy he only knew for two years?

 

But he does mourn Nagisa-kun. He mourns the boy he was, and the man he could have become. He mourns the father he could have been, the co worker he could have been, the lover he could have been. He mourns for all those who didn’t know him.

 

Haruka-senpai’s ring is glinting in the sunlight. Just a few months ago, he and Makoto-senpai flew to America to legally marry each other. They’d originally planned to have all the swimmers they knew come, but with Nagisa-kun’s absence, it didn’t seem right. So instead it was a private wedding, with just the two of them and Rei and Rin as witnesses. Officially, in Japan, Haruka-senpai has been adopted into the Tachibana family so they could share a last name. They’re planning on trying to adopt soon, Rei knows.

 

He wants to resent them and their happiness. How dare they be happy where Nagisa-kun never got the chance to? How dare they plan to start a family that Nagisa-kun will never see? How dare they move on to where Nagisa-kun had no choice to?

 

But he can’t resent them, not really. They’re practically family to him, and he knows how hard they took Nagisa-kun’s disappearance. They already put their wedding and family off for a year. They deserve their happiness.

 

A cold wind makes Rei hug his coat around his body a little tighter, and he can see his breath when he exhales. It’s been exactly a year since Nagisa-kun was last seen, and Rei still can’t really believe it. There was no way Nagisa-kun would have left voluntarily, so the only possibility was that he was kidnapped. But who would kidnap Nagisa-kun?

 

Makoto-senpai and Haruka-senpai wander off to meet Rin-senpai and Gou-san as they arrive, leaving Rei alone at the shore. “Nagisa-kun,” he whispers to himself, “where have you gone?”

 

Then he sees something.

 

In the distance, the sun is glinting off what appears to be the wings of a large, golden bird. Something akin to unease swirls in Rei’s gut as he watches the large creature swoop through the sky. 

 

He watches it fly while Haruka-senpai and Makoto-senpai exchange pleasantries with Rin-senpai and Gou-san, and he sees it land on the island with the haunted house the swim club stayed in years ago. He gapes, because it begins to walk upright when it lands.

 

Rei’s voice cracks a little when he calls to the others, “We need to get a boat out to that island,  _ now! _ ”

 

_o0o_

 

**He hasn’t moved since Abe-kun saw him. Abe-kun sat right outside the closet door and refused to move until his mother came to get him for school, but he still refuses to move.**

 

**He’s messed up. They’re all going to get caught now, and it’s his fault. Abe-kun will get mad and yell, and everyone will hear him, and the scientists will find them and keep experimenting on them and probably kill them. And it’s all his fault.**

 

**K and O and H should have just left him in the lab, where he wouldn’t do any damage. They should have left without him and lived safe lives where he couldn’t make things harder for them. They should have left him to die alone, like he’s always been meant to.**

 

**He can see the orange of the setting sun in the cracks of the closet, and he knows Abe-kun will be home soon. What will he say when they finally speak? Will Abe-kun reject him?**

 

**Abe-kun’s footsteps are getting closer to his room, and he hears the lock click into place. The closet door is quickly whipped open and he is dragged out by his arm. “Start talking,” Abe-kun demands. “** **_Now_ ** **.”**

 

_o0o_

 

_ Kagami-kun’s phone starts ringing halfway through dinner. He strides to it with ease, seemingly more relaxed since their conversation this morning. He answers it, his voice exuding confidence. “This is Kagami Taiga.” _

 

_ Then he frowns. _

 

_ He doesn’t like that Kagami-kun is frowning.  _

 

_ “Who is this?” Kagami-kun asks, sounding aggressive. “I’m not telling you anything until you tell me who you are and how you got this number.” _

 

_ Kuroko steps up behind him lightly, straining his ears to hear the person on the other end of the line. “Look, I just found my best friend who’s been missing for a year living in my closet with a new pair of wings, and he gave me this goddamned number to call because he’s having a panic attack! So put this K guy on the phone right now!” _

 

_ He hip checks Kagami just hard enough to push him out of the way and takes the phone from his grasp. “Kagami-kun, it is okay.” He puts the phone up to his ear and says, very calmly, “Please, put him on the phone.” _

 

_ The boy on the other side of the phone grunts and there’s a sound of shuffling before he hears M’s panicked breaths. “M, you need to calm down,” he says. “Just imagine O, H, and myself are there with you. Imagine O’s arms around you, hugging you to her chest. Imagine H chattering cheerfully into your ear. Imagine me telling you about how our lives will improve now that we are out of that god forsaken lab. We are all together, M.” _

 

_ Throughout his speech, M’s breathing has evened out. He feels Kagami-kun’s eyes on his back, intense and making him want to fidget. “Are you better?” _

 

_ “Yes,” comes M’s shaky rely. “I really miss you guys,” he adds as an afterthought. “I wish we could all be together.” His voice is quiet, and though he knows M’s Home is right behind him, he  most likely cannot hear his voice at this level. _

 

_ “You know how dangerous that would be,” he says, “even though I wish it too. I am thinking of going to contact H in the near future. If you want to come, we can leave at night.” _

 

_ M’s reply is so quick, and so positive, that he almost smiles. _

 

_o0o_

 

Tachi has been managing to sneak food up to Oe since she arrived, and tonight is no different. He tells his mom, “I have a test I need to study for, so I’m just going to take my food upstairs.” She’s proud of his study habits and lets him, and he formulates a plan to sneak down later, after she’s gone to bed, to eat for himself. It’s not normal, but it’s routine now.

 

Oe’s been unusually happy today. While it’s a welcome change, it’s unexpected. She’s humming as she eats her garden salad and her wings are flapping minutely, creating a slight breeze in his large room. It’s hard to concentrate on his homework.

 

Eventually, he swiveles in his chair and asks in what he hopes is a casual voice, “Did something good happen?”

 

She smiles at him, and it’s the first time in over a year that he’s seen that smile. His heart almost aches. “K and M and I went out for a fly last night,” she says as if she were commenting on something normal, like a girls’ night out or the weather. “M was on the verge of a nervous breakdown and K thought it would be a good idea to invite me as well.”

 

Taichi can’t help but stare at the way her wings twitch as she speaks. “Did anyone see you?”

 

Her expressions changes to a serious one. “We went out at night so no one would. If it had just been K or M, it would have been less of a danger. K’s hard to see in general, and M’s wings are black. I was the only risk.” She starts to pout a little, and Taichi’s a little surprised at how quickly her emotions are changing. “It’s probably so much easier for H. He decided to live by himself out on some island where no one can see him.”

 

“Why?” Taichi finds himself asking.

 

Oe seems to deliberate for a moment, and he’s afraid he’s overstepped his bounds. “Well, he told us that he didn’t want to make his friends scared. He wants them to remember what he was like before he was taken.” She smiles, but it’s sad. “For the oldest, he was kind of stupid about that. He already had his Home picked out, but he decided against it at the last second.”

 

_ Home. _ That’s English, it means home. Why did she say it in English? “What do you mean, ‘Home?’”

 

She flushes suddenly, and the red stretches from the roots of her hair to where her skin disappears under the collar of his shirt. “That’s enough questions for today!” she declares, just this side of loud. She almost throws the empty salad bowl to the tray of other empty plates and promptly flings herself down onto his bed and rolls until her wings face him.

 

_o0o_

 

His sleep schedule has gone to hell and back, but he supposes that doesn’t really matter anymore. If it starts to become a problem, like he can’t hunt or flying in the day becomes too dangerous, he’ll have to adjust.

 

That’s one of the perks of living alone, he’s found. He gets to decide everything. He’s chosen where he’ll sleep, what and when he’ll eat, how often he’ll fly. He’s utterly free for the first time in his entire life.

 

But he’s still lonely.

 

He saw a group of people on the beach earlier when he returned from his flight. He wonders why they were there in the winter. It was too late for any kind of training camps to be taking place, and no one in their right minds would go on a vacation this time of year. Maybe they were on their way home from school.

 

Even with that explanation, he feels unease twist in his gut. 

 

He’s sitting in one of the house’s windows, staring out at the waves of the ocean. “I hope they come visit me soon,” he says to himself, and he doesn’t know which group he’s talking about.

 

His ears prick. The sound of a motor is getting closer to the island, and he panics. He jumps away from the window and begins to look for a place to hide. It doesn’t matter who that boat belongs to, he has to hide. Itex will take him away and strip his freedom. K, O, and M will be disappointed in his lack of defense. Rei-chan, Haru-chan, Mako-chan, and Rinrin will be disgusted at what he’s become. He has to hide.

 

The boat’s engine is killed, and he hasn’t found a place to hide yet. He prays that he can simply evade those who have invaded his new home.

 

The second he thinks this is the second the beam of a flashlight is trained on him. His eyes widen and he shields them from the bright light while trying to figure out which one of the undesirable outcomes has been met.

 

The flashlight clatters to the floor after a long moment, and he can see.

  
“Rei-chan…” he whimpers at the same time Rei-chan says, “Nagisa-kun!”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo, this one's a doozy. It doesn't even have everyone in it, either!
> 
> Also, one of the pairings becomes canon. ~^-^~

Rei doesn’t know what to say. What  _ can _ he say in this situation? A few hours ago he was mourning Nagisa-kun’s death, and now he’s staring at him, naked and bone-thin and with  _ goddamned wings _ that are the same golden color as his hair. His pink eyes are wide and a little bit scared, and all they can do for a moment is stare at each other.

 

A year. It’s been a whole year without seeing Nagisa-kun’s face or hearing him laugh or studying with him or… 

 

Or just having him near.

 

Rei’s torn between crying out of joy and punching Nagisa-kun out, because what would possess him to contact his friends? Why would he let them believe he was dead?

 

In his moment of hesitation, Nagisa-kun tries to leap away. However, his shock has made him a little slower, allowing Rei to reach out and grab his too-thin wrist in the circle of his hand. “Don’t run away from me!” he pleads, and he’s surprised by the emotion in his voice. “Please, Nagisa-kun!”

 

In the distance, he hears Makoto-senpai and Haruka-senpai start jogging towards him. Apparently, so does Nagisa-kun, because he starts struggling in his grip. “Let me go, Rei-chan! Leave me alone!” There is anguish there, and fear, and Rei swears he won’t rest until he finds both the source of it and Nagisa-kun’s wings.

 

“Rei! What’s going on?”

 

At the sound of Makoto-senpai’s voice, tears fill Nagisa-kun’s eyes. “Rei-chan, please?” he whimpers. “I’ll talk to you. I’ll tell you everything. But you need to let me go so Mako-chan and Haru-chan don’t see me.”

 

Rei lets him go, and he disappears in a flash. 

 

Makoto-senpai and Haruka-senpai arrive less than a second later, just too late to see him. “Rei, what were you yelling about?” Makoto-senpai asks, gasping for breath. Haruka-senpai, as usual, is unruffled.

 

“I thought I saw something, is all,” Rei says, the lie coming out surprisingly easily. “I guess I was just seeing things.”

 

Makoto-senpai looks out the window and sighs. “It’s too late to chance going out again now. I guess we’ll just camp out here.”  _ Just like last time _ goes unsaid, because it isn’t just like last time.

 

Except, it kind of is. But only Rei and Nagisa-kun know that.

 

_o0o_

 

_ He cannot help himself. Though he is typically known to be the level-headed one, he does actually possess emotions. _

 

_ Those emotions are what lead to him watching the rise and fall of Aomine-kun’s chest through his window like some kind of stalker. _

 

_ He has already told Kagami-kun that he is planning on being away for a day or two while he and M get in touch with H. Kagami-kun’s only stipulation is that he calls him every night from a payphone to let him know he is still alive. He left a little early to pick M up from his Home so he could see Aomine-kun again. _

 

_ He almost hopes Aomine-kun wakes up, so he can watch expressions flit across his face. He was once in love with him, in middle school, and that affection has merely shifted gears instead of going away entirely. His heart is romantically Kagami-kun’s, but Aomine-kun is still an important person to him. It breaks his heart to know how much he is hurting, but it is ultimately more safe that he is not aware he is alive.  _

 

_ Aomine-kun rolls over so that he faces the window, and he cannot stand to stay any longer. He cannot stand to see the face he’s abandoned. _

 

_ He takes off, trying to shake the melancholy feeling in his heart away. _

 

_o0o_

 

Abe ponders Mihashi’s story as they wait for the mysterious K guy to show up. If he hadn’t seen the wings on his back for himself, he’d never believe it. After all, it’s something straight out of a mana. What kind of nutjobs would kidnap innocent children and experiment on them?  _ It’s fucking nuts, _ he thinks to himself. Aloud, he says, “Mihashi, will this friend of yours be okay talking to me?”

 

Mihashi, sitting on Abe’s bed nervously, jumps at the sound of his voice. “W-w-what d-do you m-m-m-mean?”

 

Abe grits his teeth. Mihashi is definitely the same boy he was when he went missing, wings or no. “Is this guy coming to pick you up going to be okay with me knowing what he looks like?!”

 

He immediately regrets the sharp note in his voice when Mihashi flinches back from him. “I, uh, a-asked him a w-while ago if he would be o-okay with A-a-a-abe-kun knowing him. Th-the only thing h-he doesn’t want to d-do is l-let anyone know who his H-Home is.”

 

He says the word in English, and it carries a weight Abe never thought possible for such a simple word. “What’s that mean?” he asks.

 

Mihashi tilts his head in a way Abe refuses to call adorable because of his behavior. “K does not w-want people to know who h-he’s living with.”

 

“That’s not what you meant, you little shit. What is a Home?” His English, usually superior to Mihashi’s, sounds clumsy to his own ears.

 

His face turns an interesting shade of red and is saved from having to reply by a tap on the window.

 

Hovering awkwardly in the air outside his second-story bedroom is another bird kid, with light blue hair and snow white wings.

 

“Hey, Mihashi?” Abe says just as Mihashi reaches for the window.

 

“Yes, Abe-kun?” 

 

“Come back safely, dumbass. Don’t stay gone for a year again.”

 

Mihashi’s eyes may be welling with tears, but neither comment on it as he opens the window and flies out to meet his winged brother.

 

_o0o_

 

Taichi is awoken from his somewhat-peaceful slumber when his cell phone begins ringing.

 

At his side, Oe groans and swats his arm. “Make it stop, please.” He tries not to think about how strangely easy it is to have Oe sleeping next to him as he fumbles for his phone and flips it open without looking at the caller ID. 

 

Before he can ask who is calling, Chihaya answers for herself. “Taichi! Taichi!”

 

He groans, throwing his spare arm over his eyes. “ _ What, _ Chihaya? I was sleeping.”

 

“Sorry, Taichi,” comes Arata’s voice over the phone, and he’s only a little surprised to find that he and Chihaya are together at such a late hour. “I tried to tell her not to call, but you know how she is.”

 

He feels Oe shaking a little, and he decides she’s trying to stifle a laugh. Taichi groans and puts the phone on speaker so Oe can hear. “Okay, what’s she freaking out about?”

 

“Do you have a television in your room?” Taichi makes an affirmative hum in the back of  his throat, and Arata continues, “Turn on the news, then.They’re looping a story that you might be interested in.”

 

He turns on his bedside lamp and huffs when he finds the remote isn’t in its usual place. With a kind of domestic ease, Oe reaches to the window sill next to her side of the bed (which it has become without either of them noticing) and wraps her slender fingers around the remote. Instead of passing it to him, she turns it on and flips through the channels until it lands on the news channel.

 

And she immediately freezes.

 

“—laboratory with several branches has been discovered to be performing human experimentation. We have only just found this out today, when a group of children, who wish to remain anonymous, came forward with their story. These children, whose ages range from six to fifteen, were experimented on in order to alter their genetic codes; they are now ninety-eight percent human and two percent bird. This genetic change has brought about several distinct differences from other humans. The most apparent change is the appearance of wings on their backs—”

 

Oe throws the remote as if it is responsible for the news coverage. The noise startles Taichi and the other two teenagers on the line, and Chihaya cries, “Taichi, what happened?”

 

“I just dropped the remote,” he lies. 

 

On the television, the reporter continues, “—persons with any information about these illegal experiments, or any victims of the experimentation, are urged to come forward and testify against these scientists.”

 

Oe is shaking again, but Taichi knows it’s no longer from mirth. He wishes he could say something, but he won’t risk exposing Oe to Chihaya. Chihaya is a good person, but she has no filter, and he has no doubt she would blow the secret almost immediately. Instead of speaking aloud, he rests a hand on her upper arm.

 

She tenses for a long moment before she relaxes into his touch. “Wow,” he says lazily to Chihaya and Arata. “Who’d have thought human experimentation was actually a thing? But why did you need me to see this  _ right now? _ ”

 

“We thought you would still be up studying,” Arata admits. “And Chihaya was grumpy about her sister interrupting our karuta match to show it to us.”

 

Oe stretches her legs just a little and goes to roll over so she faces the window when Chihaya says, “Taichi, is someone there with you?”

 

Taichi and Oe both freeze. He curses himself mentally, because of course Chihaya with her fucking superhuman hearing could have heard the sheets moving. The hesitation is enough to support Chihaya’s theory, and she screams much too loudly to be by any means acceptable. “ _ Are you having sex? _ ” she demands.

 

He huffs a little. “Please, Chihaya, don’t be an idiot. If I were in the middle of sex, I wouldn’t have picked up the phone. Besides, just because you two are going at it like rabbits doesn’t mean  _ I _ am.”

 

Arata lets out an indignant squawk even as Chihaya plows on. “Then you won’t mind if Arata and I stop by for a karuta match!”

 

“What the hell? Of course I would! It’s late and I’m trying to sleep!” 

 

“He’s right, Chihaya,” Arata says. “Let him go back to sleep. We can start our match over.”

 

“Fine.” There’s a definite whine in her voice even as she complies with Arata’s suggestion. “Night, Taichi!”

 

Taichi closes his phone and places it back on his nightstand. Then he looks at Oe. “What are you going to do?” he asks. 

 

“I have to let the others know,” she replies. “I’m not sure if M has access to a television, and I  _ know _ H doesn’t. K might be asleep already, too, so I don’t know if he’s seen the news yet.”

 

“You can use my phone,” he offers. “You know, so you don’t risk waking my parents up by walking downstairs.”

 

She nods and holds her hand out. “Thank you, Mashima-kun.”

 

She dials the number fast, much faster than he’d anticipated, and held the phone up to her ear. She stiffens and asks, “Where is K?” Her mouth tightens at the answer she receives. “Ah, yes, thank you,” she says, ever the lady, and hangs up.

 

Taichi shifts so that he’s sitting up. “What’s wrong?”

 

“K’s Home says he left to collect M and go visit H, so they haven’t seen the news. I’m going to have to go find them.”

 

There’s that word again.  _ Home. _ Why won’t Oe tell him what it means? Instead of voicing this, Taichi asks, “Where is H, exactly?”

 

She hesitates. He can see the thought process run through her head. “He’s in Iwatobi, in the countryside. He decided to live on an island in an old house he and his swim team slept in once. He doesn’t have access to television or telephone, and he won’t risk going into town, so he’s completely isolated.”

 

Taichi’s honestly a little shocked she’s divulged this much information. She had once seemed very adamant about keeping the others’ identities as secret as possible. However, she used his phone, which has caller ID, to call one of them, and has revealed the location of another. He’s astounded by this display of trust.

 

“So,” he manages, his throat a little dry, “are you going to Iwatobi tonight?”

 

She nods. “I need to do all my traveling while it’s dark. My wings stand out too much compared to K’s and M’s.”

 

“If I give you some money, will you call me from a payphone when you get there so I know you’re safe?”

 

Oe blushes, and Taichi is suddenly struck with the desire to see more of it. Her whole face lights up cherry red, and it’s the cutest thing he’s ever seen. “If it would make you feel better, yes.”

 

He gets out of bed and rifles through his wallet to pull out some coins. “You should wear one of my old jackets; it’s getting cold outside. If you wear a belt really tight and roll the legs up, my jeans might be able to fit you, too. Damn, if only my mom wore the same size shoe you do…”

 

“Mashima-kun,” she says quietly, halting his tirade. “My body is much sturdier against the elements now. The only reason I wear clothes around  you is propriety. K, M, and H have all seen me naked on several occasions, as I have seen them.”

 

Taichi feels an irrational jealousy bubble in his chest. It’s not like Oe is his girlfriend or anything. And she’s said herself that the other three are like brothers to her. Why is he suddenly angry at the thought of another man seeing her naked?

 

“However, she continues, stepping towards his closet slowly, “I would like to take a jacket.” Her blush is back. “Your smell would comfort me.”

 

Now  _ he’ _ s blushing, though he hides it by sticking his head in the closet and pretending to search for a jacket for her to wear. It needs to be old, something he doesn’t wear, because she needs to cut slits in it for her wings. However, she wants it to smell like him.

 

He finally settles on a spring jacket he hasn’t worn for a few months, and yet hasn’t been washed either. It’s downy and soft, and his mother won’t question it’s disappearance since he’s been needing a new one anyway. He hands it to her and watches as she fits it over her shoulders before grabbing the pocket knife he’s started leaving on his desk to cut the slits down the back and stick her wings through. She then accepts the coins from his curled fist and sticks them in a zippered pocket so they won’t fall out during her flight. 

 

“Hey, Oe.”

 

Her head snaps up a little too fast, but he doesn’t mention it. “Yes, Mashima-kun?”

 

“ _ Home _ means something, doesn’t it?”

 

Taichi can’t actually believe how much Oe has changed, but she’s still the same girl he played karuta with. Except, she’s not a girl anymore. She’s eighteen now, and so is he, but he can’t help but see her as the sixteen year old girl he met. Her head had been filled with romantic notions, and she’d even encouraged his pursuit of Chihaya until she and Arata became official. 

 

Now, she hsd a sadness around her, no matter how hard she tries to hide it. She’s been used and hurt, and that changed her forever. She’s become more mature than any girl he goes to school with. Her body now holds womanly curves that Taichi finds harder and harder to look away from. However, she is still a romantic, still as serious as ever. She still takes her every responsibility with utmost poise, and she sometimes wakes up crying from the nightmares just as she used to cry during intense matches. She is the same, and yet different.

 

And there’s something in Taichi’s chest that wants her like he’s never wanted anyone. Not even his obsession with Chihaya had been this intense. His affection for Chihaya had been a childish infatuation, but he can see Oe as the mother of his children.

 

And then it hits him.

 

Over her year-long absence and her days-long stay at his home, Taichi has fallen in love with Oe Kanade. It could be the adrenaline from the news story still ringing in his mind, or the reminder of how happy Chihaya and Arata are, but he’s certain that whatever the catalyst, he is in love with her.

 

Her blush deepens and she takes a minute step towards him. “Do you really want to know?” she asks, her voice barely above a whisper.

 

“Yes,” he breathes back.

 

Her small hands reach up to grasp his collar, and when she tugs him down, he goes willingly and lets her lips press against his.

 

It’s not Taichi’s first kiss, but it’s probably Oe’s, not that it hinders her at all. She holds her own as their lips part so their breath can mingle, as his arms wind around her waist below the base of her wings to press her body against his. She’s on her toes and he’s hunched so far his neck is already aching, but he can’t bring himself to care when he has her in his arms. 

 

Eventually Oe pulls away, still blushing up a storm but looking very pleased with herself. “Now, I really do have to go,” she says sweetly.

 

“I’ll catch the first train to Iwatobi,” he responds breathlessly. “I’m not letting you go this alone.”

 

Her only response is another soft kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way, the kids they're talking about on the news are the Flock. I'm not completely sure of the timeline here, but it's when the Flock comes into the public eye. Just thought I'd clarify that. :)


End file.
